1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to fluid service devices and the bypass of measuring or meter portions within.
2. Background Art
In the natural gas service business, for both residential and commercial customers, each customer is provided with a service stop to control the flow of gas and thus service to the customer. These stops are provided on all gas supply risers generally on the supply side of an individual or multiple header meter station. A supply pipe provides gas to the stop, which when opened, supplies gas to the meter from which the metered supply of gas passes to the customer through a pipe. In typical service, it may be necessary for the utility company to change out the meter and/or regulator, generally referred to as the "meter loop" to permit repairs. In order not to discontinue service to the customer during such repair, it is desirable to provide some bypass between the supply pipe and customer connection.
Unless this bypass is provided, it is necessary to have access to the customer's premises in order to re-light the pilots in any gas appliances, such as a hot water heater, and to check the customer's equipment. If the customer is not at home at that time, it requires a return to the premises. The utility companies have recognized that return calls for the purpose of providing re-lighting of gas appliances and to check customer equipment is very expensive. There is also a potential exposure to liability of the public service company for operation of the appliances after gas service has been interrupted unless there has been checking of the customer's equipment. It is therefore desirable to provide some sort of bypass that may be used by utility company repair personnel.
To perform this operation with the use of current stop valves, the customer line is provided with a tapped hole. The repairperson is provided with a propane or compressed natural gas bottle together with a flexible hose having an in-line regulator and terminating in a male tapped connector. The gas bottle is connected to the flexible hose and has an in-line regulator which terminates in a connector that is engaged in an opening in the customer line. Typically, the opening has a check valve to which the connector of the portable external supply is connected. In operation, the gas stop valve is shut off while simultaneously the gas bottle is opened so that the pressure upstream of the check valve exceeds the customer pipe gas pressure commencing the flow of gas from the bottle to the customer. When the gas stop valve is fully shut off, the repairperson then has access to the meter to perform repair operations.
One difficulty with this procedure is that it requires the repairperson to carry the portable gas supply. Each repairperson must be equipped with a gas bottle, regulator, and flexible hose so that all repairpersons can perform the bypass operation. This increases the cost of equipping repairpersons. It also increases the time to complete the bypass. If the bottle is depleted before the repair is completed, service must be restored (where it is possible to do, i.e., the meter loop can be reassembled), a new bottle must be obtained, the bypass effected again--all resulting in expense and waste of time.
Other patents have attempted to address this issue and disclose devices dissimilar to the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,073 to Winnie et al., entitled "Method of Changing Out Gas Meters" requires the use of an auxiliary source of gas as discussed above. U.S. Pat. No. 3,148,690 to Peterson, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Changing Gas Meters" also requires an auxiliary source. U.S. Pat. No. 3,122,158 to Grunsky, entitled "Gas Meter Changing Device" requires a flexible bag which can only withstand a certain degree of pressure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,760 to Lancaster, entitled "Non-Interrupting Gas Meter Exchange System" requires a rigid frame and isolating enclosure to provide fluid bypass. U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,754 to Cook, entitled "Gas Meter Disconnect Service" also requires an alternate supply of gas. U.S. Pat. No. 3,754,573 to Boles, entitled "Multipurpose Gas Meter Change Valve" is a complex configuration of ball valves used to bypass gas flow. U.S. Pat. No. 3,173,295 to Magleby, entitled "Fluid By-Pass Device" also discloses a complex configuration to perform bypass using springs, cages, and discs to direct fluid flow.
The present invention overcomes the difficulties described above, particularly the necessity of supplying each repairperson with an auxiliary supply of gas to use during the bypass operation.